Annemarie Lewis

About Annemarie Lewis

Current student at Macquarie University studying a Bachelor of Arts and Media and Communications. I have a vested interest in human rights issues particularly in Third World countries and conflict zones.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, announcing plans to move the US Embassy there. President Trump stated that after two decades of no progress towards a peace agreement between the Israeli and Palestinians, it was time for the decision to be made. “This is nothing more […]

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In the wake of the devastating terror attack that left eight dead in New York City, President Donald Trump called for tighter immigration measures; he recommended Congress to ‘immediately’ end the visa program that allowed the Uzbek immigrant, who was charged for the attack, to enter the country. The visa […]

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Does the media report mass shootings* and violent crimes responsibly? On October 1st, just after 10 pm, Stephan Paddock opened fire from a hotel room at 22 000 concertgoers. Less than 2 hours later, 58 people had been killed and nearly 500 were injured. This event was quickly labelled the […]

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The Federal Government recently announced Australia’s first national strategy for protecting crowded places from terrorism. The announcement looks to respond to the devastating terror attack in Barcelona by addressing concerns the use of vehicles as weapons among crowds. Currently, Australia’s National Terrorism Threat Level is “probable.” According to the policy outline, […]

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President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday in a tweet that the United States would be banning transgender individuals from serving in the nation’s armed forces. In a series of tweets President Trump stated the following: “After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States […]

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The state of New York is one step closer to ending child marriage. On the 20th of June 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that aims to “dramatically reduce the circumstances under which children can marry” as reported by the Human Rights Watch. The new legislation prevents any marriage or […]

The United Nation’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has released a statement expressing concern over the rising numbers of child deaths in conflict zones during 2017, urging involved parties to take action. The statement includes figures showing that between January 1 and April 30, 2017, compared to the same period in […]

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The United States’ warships have advanced towards the Korean Peninsula in the Western Pacific Ocean as a reactive show of force due to growing concerns about North Korea’s advancing weapons program. In a statement by the US navy’s Third Fleet on Saturday, the strike group had been directed to sail north, but it […]

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United States’ military operations in northern Afghanistan, who were targeting the Taliban, has been found to have been responsible for the deaths of 33 civilians. In November 2016, the United Nations announced investigations into the event on the 3rd of November, where US airstrikes were deployed in support of a […]

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A United Kingdom government report has raised concerns over the lack of refugee integration among local communities. The report was commissioned by the British government over a year ago and stated that the country has failed to keep up with the changes brought by immigration. Former Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned before his […]

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The Coalition introduced a proposal to amend the Migration Act. The amendment would see those who arrived in Australia by boat, excluding minors, from 2013 be banned from ever entering the country, including on tourist and business visas. The proposal comes as the government hardens their stance on border protection. Immigration Minister, […]

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Russia has been strongly accused of war crimes based largely on the accusation of the widespread use of bunker-busting and incendiary bombs on the 275,000 civilians living in Aleppo, Syria. During the emergency security council session on Syria, United Kingdom ambassador to the United Nations, Matthew Rycroft, stated that “Bunker-busting […]

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September, 9th, 2015, former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott committed Australia to resettling 12,000 refugees from the Syrian and Iraq conflict. On year one, however, only 3,500 refugees have been resettled and Australia is being criticized over “hollow promises” by multiple human rights groups. The figures have been compared to Canada’s intake which […]

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Allegations of self-harm and sexual abuse incident reports being downgraded, a guard grabbing a boy by the throat and banging his head against the ground, and a seemingly dispassionate Minister for Immigration all splashed across the Australian and international news scenes. The Nauru Files were released August 2016, exclusively, by The […]

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In the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the death toll rises with at least 64 people dead after an attack suspected to have been carried out by rebels. The reports emerged on Al Jazeera, who Nyonyi Bwanakawa, the mayor of Beni in North Kivu, informed that the attack on Saturday night happened in the town’s Rwangoma district. […]

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Burundi, formally the Republic of Burundi, has rejected the United Nation’s proposal to deploy up to 228 United Nations police officers to monitor human rights abuses and ease tensions after a year of violence. The country has faced political turmoil and increasing violence due to President Pierre Nkurunziza announcing plans in April 2015 to run for a third […]

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The Australian federal government has pushed for new legislation that seeks to implement indefinite prison terms for terrorists. The proposal initially emerged in late 2015 under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Australian Liberal party who recently won the 2016 Federal election. The legislation could involve the following: annual reporting to Parliament on the number of orders granted, reviews to measure the system, the […]

The United Nations does admirable work internationally but can also be seen as an active contributor to the north-south divide especially in the case of Africa, where a large portion of the “South” resides. This is clearly evident through the use of an outdated UN system that caters predominantly […]

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South Sudan has declared a ceasefire amongst its factions with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir declaring “unilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities”, while ordered government troops to “disengage” from fighting rival forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. Violence broke out in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, on Monday. The […]

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Pauline Hanson, leader and National Chairman of the party she founded in 1997, One Nation, has made a political comeback in the 2016 Federal election, which was held on Saturday, July 2nd. Having recently re-joined the party, Ms. Hanson was the party’s Queensland Senate candidate for the 2016 Federal Election. […]